“I don’t want to give them anything.”
We were at that crucial moment in his estate plan, and Joe needed to decide how much he was going to leave his kids and grandkids. When the question came up how much he wanted to leave them, he was firm in his resolve. For the next 40 minutes, I heard all of his stories about how his kids had frittered away money, failed to listen to his advice, and only came to him for money.
Did you hear the news? One church was struggling—literally in the midst of famine. And yet another church, which was not doing so hot itself, took up a specially offering for the church experiencing famine. It’s described like this:
The concept of “limited good” is that there is only so much good, so much knowledge and so much love to go around, so it is wise not to share it.
By this time of January, the holiday glow is off, but with it comes time to reflect on what just occurred.
At Christmas, we take time as a family to sit down and make monetary gifts as a family. Typically, we make allocations according to age—the older ones get more to give away. (We may be ending that practice soon given what I witnessed among my younger boys.)
At this time of year, many people are rushing to complete their year-end giving. How do you evaluate what is a worthy charity?
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have generated quite the buzz by encouraging billionaires to have 50% of their wealth to charity. In July, the Chronicle of Philanthropy provided an interest report on the habits of the wealthy in their giving.
My eyes were weary. It was an early morning flight, and I was heading down the freeway on the way to the airport. Then it happened. I crested a hill, and there spread before me was a beautiful sunrise.
It was one of those sunrises where the colors of purple and orange are muffled by thousand puffy clouds along the horizon. All I could do was marvel, and say “Thank you Lord for allowing me to see.” My busy world was interrupted by seeing—really seeing.
Each year, more than 300,000 cars are given to non profits. But only 5% are given to Christian ministries. This paltry number is true despite the fact that the majority of these cars are given by Christian donors.
A recent study by Empty Tomb, an Illinois based research organization shows some troubling signs for church giving. From 2007 to 2008, churches saw a decrease of $20.02 in per member gifts.
In my last blog, I wrote about how some business owners are dramatically increasing their giving. They are doing so by giving away part of their business interest.
